A Loose Bolt
by Shoujo Kakumei Rena
Summary: After so many failed Portal Gun tests, Caroline asks her boss if she can help fix the problem. One-sided CarolinexCave. Oneshot. Rated T for Cave swearing ONCE.


**A/N: Well, here we go. Written from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m., some Cave and Caroline. More one-sided, unfortunately, but I'll write some real fluff soon. Oh, how I want to write Caveline fluff... This idea was floating around in my head for a while, and I had to get it down. I'm really glad I did, too. I think it turned out pretty well, except I'm not too proud of the ending. Oh well. Let me know what you think! Reviews are awesome and very much loved. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Oh, not again!"<p>

"It's alright, Mister Johnson. It'll work…eventually!"

Caroline searched for any words she could find to cheer up her boss. For the last few weeks she had been standing by as Cave Johnson ordered his lab boys to test what he called the "Aperture Science Quantum Tunneling Device". What the scientists had come up with was an enormous black case worn on one's back. Connected to this case was a tube, and to the tube, a gun-like attachment. When the trigger was pulled, a portal was to appear. When fired again, a second portal would appear. Then, one could walk through one portal and out the other. It was truly a revolutionary device.

However, this was not the case with Cave Johnson's invention. For the last few weeks they had been testing the device, it had not worked. Every week, a new Olympian or astronaut or war hero would walk through a blue portal, but never come back out through the orange on the other end of the room.

It goes without saying that Cave Johnson was very displeased with these results.

Cave shook his head at his assistant's comment.

"When will that be, Caroline?" he asked her.

She looked at him, dumbfounded. How was she supposed to answer without angering him even more?

"I'm not sure, sir," she said. "But it'll be soon, I'm sure!" Caroline grinned at her boss with reassurance. She wondered how she might be able to help. After all, she was just a secretary. She wasn't a higher-up employee or one of the well-trusted, well-paid scientists. Just a lowly assistant… But even so, she wanted to help the company; to help Cave Johnson.

"Mr. Johnson," she began. "Might I be able to see the device's blueprints?"

Cave looked at her, caught off-guard by her request. He hooked his index finger on his chin, thinking to himself.

"Why is that?" he asked, still somewhat confused.

"Well, sir, I want to see if, maybe, by some odd chance, I can help to fix it."

The CEO leaned forward and looked straight at Caroline's face, seeming to search her for any signs of weakness upon making her offer. Caroline unwaveringly stared back, a look of utmost determination upon her face.

"It's not like I could make it any worse." she stated firmly.

Mr. Johnson couldn't argue with that. It's not like anything his 'lab boys' had come up with had fixed the problem. He stood up straight again and turned to the desk behind him, shifting papers and files around until he had found the blueprints. Carefully placing them into their own file, he handed them to Caroline.

"Alright, here they are." he said, handing them to her. "Guard them with your life, Caroline. Oh, and another thing. If you do manage to fix it, do you think you could, I don't know, make it smaller? It's really weighing down our test subjects. They're moving like snails down there!"

Caroline smiled and took the file.

"I'll see what I can do, sir."

* * *

><p>She sat at her desk for hours overlooking the designs. Every little detail was etched perfectly onto the papers, helping her to understand truly just how the device worked. But there was the real problem. With all these bits and pieces, it should have been working properly.<p>

Caroline sighed and took a sip of her coffee. How long had she been here? She looked at the clock on the wall above her desk. Five hours. She figured she'd look at the blueprints once more before reporting to Cave.

Oh, Cave Johnson. She had always had a high level of respect for that man, even before she began working for him. She even admitted to herself as of late that she might have feelings for him. She ignored it, however. She had heard that office relationships never ended well. And even if she did decide to tell him, she imagined that he wouldn't feel the same. So she kept the thoughts inside. She didn't dare say a thing to him or anyone else about it.

She looked up at the clock again. Only five minutes had passed. She yawned and stretched in her swivel chair before rising, gathering up the blueprints, and walking to her boss' office.

She rapped her knuckles on the wooden door twice before hearing Cave's booming voice call "Door's open!", and she stepped inside.

"Mr. Johnson," she said softly.

"Caroline, come in!" he called to her, waving his hand to urge her to come closer. "Any luck with those blueprints?"

"Ah, you see sir, there's a bit of a problem…" she trailed off, unsure of whether or not she should tell him that the device was perfectly fine.

"And what would that be?"

"Well… With everything that the scientists have added to the device, it should be operational." She swallowed immediately, afraid of what his response would be.

"What do you mean?" he asked her calmly.

She hesitated a moment before telling him "There's nothing wrong with the device."

There was a moment of silence between them as Cave laced his fingers together and rested his chin upon them, looking directly at the brunette before him.

"And you're absolutely sure of this?"

"As sure as I'll ever be, sir."

Cave sighed, running his fingers through his dark hair. Surely it had to flawed somehow, and Caroline was just overlooking it. Why would it be broken and operational all at once? He looked up at Caroline once more.

"Bring me the blueprints."

Caroline did as he ordered nervously and brought them forward, laying them on the desk. She waited patiently as Cave scanned the papers. It took only a few minutes before Cave looked up from the blueprints and said to Caroline, "You're absolutely right."

"Sir, could I see the device?" she asked. "Maybe there's something wrong with the wiring?"

Cave nodded. "I was about to do just that myself."

He stood, gathering the documents and walking to his office door, Caroline following faithfully at his heels.

* * *

><p>After hours of searching the device, the duo was exhausted. They couldn't find a single problem.<p>

"Let's just stop this, Caroline." said a clearly irritated Cave. "It's just not going to work."

But Caroline was persistent. She ignored his comment and continued searching the device until, suddenly, she found the problem.

"Umm, Mr. Johnson? You may want to look at this."

Cave walked to join Caroline and looked to where she pointed at the device; a single screw rested barely in place on the side of the gun. Caroline let out a small laugh at the irony of the situation, while Cave rolled his eyes, frustration written across his face.

"Caroline, I swear to you, if this is the reason for this whole mess, I'm replacing every damn one of the lab boys."

* * *

><p>After addressing the problem to the lead scientist of the Quantum Tunneling Device's assembly team, the screw was fastened into place, and said scientist was fired. Now, it was time to test the device one more time.<p>

Caroline prepped the test subject - a tall, hardy man with dark hair and eyes - informing him of the possible side effects of the device and the substances with which he would be in contact. All a part of protocol. The man nodded impatiently with every warning Caroline gave, leaving her to only hope that he understood. She waited with the text subject until she heard a loud buzzer, and then Cave Johnson's voice on the intercom.

"Caroline, is everything ready?" he asked, his voice given a grainy sound by the speakers.

"Yes sir, Mister Johnson." she replied enthusiastically, trying to hide her nervousness from the man next to her. She bid the subject farewell before leaving to join Cave in the room above the testing area.

"I think we're ready to start then." he said to her upon her arrival. She took a seat next to him, clipboard in hand to jot down the results, and Cave began speaking again, this time into the microphone on the desk in front of him.

"Hello, good sir!" he said excitedly, I'm Cave Johnson, Founder and CEO of Aperture Science Innovators, and you are a test subject. The large piece of equipment you're hauling around on your back is the Aperture Science Quantum Tunneling Device." he looked over at Caroline. "Is there any way we can shorten that? It's a mouthful."

Caroline cocked her head to the side. "Umm, a 'portal gun', sir?"

"Excellent, thank you Caroline!" he exclaimed before turning back to the microphone. "A portal gun. That's what you're carrying. Now, my assistant Caroline and I will be supervising your every movement, so don't worry about a thing. This test should be easy, anyway."

The test subject peered through the glass at Cave and Caroline, a scared look in his eye. Perhaps he had taken in Caroline's warnings.

"Just make two portals and walk through them." Cave said. "That's all."

The man below them nodded, but complied to Cave's command. Caroline drew a shaky breath, watching in baited anticipation as the subject opened the first portal. Once both were placed, she breathed a sigh of relief. Halfway there. She glanced over at Cave, who was watching the man take his fist step through the blue portal he had created on the wall in front of him. He bit his lip as he observed, a bead of sweat slid down his temple; she knew immediately that he was worried. Never had she seen him like this, but she understood. She placed her hand on top of his and gripped it. When he looked at her with a puzzled expression, she merely smiled.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the test subject walked completely through the portal. The founder and his assistant watched the opposite wall now, hoping they would see a complete human body on the other side.

And sure enough, they did.

Out of the orange portal came a foot, a leg, a torso, and so on until the man stumbled out and onto the floor. He picked himself up though and, brushing himself off, gave the two a thumbs up.

Caroline clasped a hand over her mouth, shocked and amazed by what she had just seen. That huge device had finally done exactly what it was built to do, and all because of a loose bolt. An overwhelming wave of relief washed over her, and she smiled.

"Caroline, we've done it! It works!" Cave exclaimed, picking Caroline up out of her chair and hugging her. It only lasted a moment, but for Caroline, it would suffice.

"I know, sir! It's amazing!" she responded cheerfully.

Remembering the test subject below, Cave turned to his microphone one last time.

"You've made a great contribution to science today, son! Now, head on home. We're done here." He shut off the mike and turned back to his assistant, who was already heading out the door.

"Caroline, no need to turn in test results today. In fact, go back to your office to get your coat and meet me outside my office. This calls for a celebration!"

"Yes sir, Mister Johnson. I'll be right out."

As Caroline walked back to her desk, she smiled to herself. Maybe she did have a chance. The last few days were just full of odd, wonderful surprises. She stayed cheerful, excited for the success of the portal gun, and for the dinner she would be sharing with her boss that evening.


End file.
